The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Runs a 10.85 on Video!

When Chrysler announced that the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat would pack at least 600 horsepower, we knew that it would be pretty fast. When we learned that the Hellcat would actually pack 707 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque, we knew that it would be really fast. Today, we learned that it is mind blowing fast – rocketing down the quarter mile quicker than any factory American muscle car of all time…and challenging some of the best American sports cars of all time.

The Chrysler Group issued a video this morning with Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis and Richard Rawlings from TV’s Fast N Loud with the corporate boss talking about the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat before we see Rawlings with the Hellcat at the drag strip. Accompanied by one of the 1971 Dodge Challengers around which the styling of the 2015 Challenger was based, Rawlings blasts down the quarter mile with a new SRT Hellcat model fitted with the 8-speed automatic transmission and street legal drag radial tires. This combination allows Rawlings to get the new Challenger through the quarter mile in just 10.85 seconds.

They don’t mention the drag radials before the run, but after the Challenger SRT Hellcat crosses the finish line we get some fine print that tells us about the special tires. More importantly, this fine print also explains that the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with the automatic transmission and the factory tires ran an NHRA certified 11.2 at 125 miles per hour. That isn’t as exciting as the 10 second times, but at 11.2 the Hellcat Challenger is still the quickest American muscle car of all time. The current Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang typically runs in the 11.5 range while the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 runs in the high 11s in stock form.

Not only is the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat the quickest muscle car of all time, but it will also hold its own against the American supercars like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the SRT Viper. When Motor Trend pitted the ZR1 and Viper head to head, both cars ran an 11.5 @ 128 miles per hour – meaning that if the Challenger SRT Hellcat isnt outright quicker than the C6 ZR1 and the Viper, it is fast enough to beat those two $100k+ monsters from time to time.